Life's Work, Life's Love
by Faith-Beth
Summary: NEW! chapter and Authors Note![slash] Through a series of television interviews, charity events and hockey games, the Ducks renew their friendship and Charlie and Adam learn that sometimes you need more than love to make it work.
1. Talk Show Debut

Title: Life's Work, Life's Love  
  
Author: Faith Elizabeth  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This was written for entertainment purposes only and not profit was made.  
  
Summary: [slash] Adam and Charlie are two of the NHL's brightest stars. While spending their spare time coaching inner city kids, they catch up with old friends and learn that even the strongest love can be stretched to thin.  
  
Authors Note: This isn't my usual fandom but I recently read some very good MD stories and got inspired. Go figure.  
  
Authors Note for chapter one: I don't actually watch Oprah so forgive me if it doesn't go with the actual show. It was just the only show that I could think of that would put this kind of thing on it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I have a very special guest with me today, he is an amazing young man with an incredible story. Please welcome the captain of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Charlie Conway!"  
  
Charlie took a deep breath and walked out on to the set. He smiled and waved to the audience and hugged the host lightly. Taking a seat in his designated spot, he smiled and said his semi-scripted greeting. "Wow, it is such an honor to be here. I never imagined that I would be sitting next to the great Oprah Winfrey!"  
  
"You really are a sweet one aren't you?" Oprah smiled. I've been a fan of yours since you played in the Junior Goodwill Games 15 years ago."  
  
"Ooh, don't say that. It makes me feel old," Charlie winced visibly and then chuckled lightly. "I remember those games like they were yesterday."  
  
Oprah laughed in response. "And that was only the beginning of your career. All of team USA received scholarships to the prestigious Eden Hall Academy in Minnesota, where you graduated with honors and earned scholarships to many Ivy-League universities. You played for Yale. Earned a degree in psychology and at the age of 22, were drafted to play for the San Jose Sharks."  
  
"When you say it like that I think of someone else's life," Charlie responded sheepishly.  
  
"Really?" Oprah gave him a quizzical look. "How do you look back on your life?"  
  
He looked at the ceiling for a brief moment before recalling his past. "I think of a little boy whose whole life revolved around hockey. I think of a group of kids struggling through less that perfect home lives to make something of them selves. I think I'll always be the boy who had more knowledge about hockey then actually skill," Charlie gave a quiet laugh. "I look back and remember struggling with homework until 2am and getting up at 5am for extra practice. I remember naps at lunchtime and study sessions after school just to maintain the B's I needed to stay on the team and the A's I needed to show my team. To my dieing day, I'll tell you, I never would have made it through high school or university if it hadn't been for my friends. When I look back on my life," he paused for a moment," I see a lot of hard work and a great reward."  
  
"Wow," Oprah then turned to the audience, "We'll be back with more of Charlie Conway." And the show cut to commercial.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Charlie slouched back in to his seat. "You're doing great. Stay calm and be open and you'll do fine. I s there anything we can get you?" Oprah sensed his nervousness.  
  
Charlie responded with a rueful grin, "Not unless you can get Banksie here in the nest 30 seconds."  
  
Oprah laughed at that. "Sorry, no can do. But if it helps, we are showing a clip in a minute."  
  
The director cut them off with a loud, "Quiet on set! We're on in 5, 4, 3, ."  
  
"Welcome back. We are here today with a very special young man. He is 26 years old, the youngest captain in the NHL, he is a volunteer minor hockey coach, and he's openly gay." Oprah turned back to Charlie, "How long have you been openly gay?"  
  
"It'd been 10 years now. I came out just before my sixteenth birthday."  
  
"That's a long time. What was it like for you, coming out at such a young age?"  
  
"It was. interesting." Charlie gave a lopsided grin. "I had known that I was gay since I was 12 but I dated a few girls during my first few years at Eden Hall, so that took a little explaining but over all, I was really lucky. My mom and coaches were really supportive and my team, was incredible. I don't thonk I could have done it without the Ducks."  
  
"You're referring, of course, to the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks." Oprah the asked a question she already know the answer to," I understand you are in a long term relationship?"  
  
That brought a real Charlie smile, "Yes, I am. I'm very deeply invested in a long term relationship with Adam, my high school sweetheart.. and he's probably dieing of embarrassment now that I've called him that on television."  
  
Oprah chuckled at that and then turned to the camera, "We've got a clip that will show you exactly what he means by that."  
  
The Clip opened with a scene of Charlie and Adam walking hand in hand, away from the camera and down a path around a lake. "We were 8 years old when Adam and I first met. There was a distinct class difference between our families but the only thing that mattered to us was that we could both play hockey. And it was though the miracle of hockey that I found my best friend and my soulmate."  
  
The clip changed to a scene of Charlie (in a replica of his original Ducks jersey) and Adam (in a replica of his Team USA Ducks jersey) playing a game of one on one in a deserted arena. Charlie's voice was replaced by Adams soft tones. "When Charlie first came out, I think it affected me more than anyone else.. And not just because he was my roommate," he laughed quietly as the scene switched to one of Adam leaning against a large pine tree. "I never considered the possibility of being gay until I found out that my best friend was. Finding out that Charlie was gay made we question a lot of things. My own sexuality for one. For 3 months I did some intensive soul searching and ended up more confused than ever. So, I talked to the one person I knew I could trust, the one person who could give me the answers I needed. Funny thing was, Charlie didn't have the answers. They were always inside of me, he just brought them to the surface."  
  
The scene changed once again, this time to the image of Charlie and Adams kitchen, where the pair where making blueberry pancakes and teasing each other with their usual mirth. "Things weren't always this easy with us," Charlie addressed the camera. "We started dating during our senior year of high school and stayed together through university. Heck, Adams the reason I went to Yale!" Adam game Charlie a loving hip check. "And it was such a heart break to go to one of the best school in the country?" he said sarcastically.  
  
"Seriously though," Adam added, "Our studies and practices took a lot out of us and being hockey players, we faced a lot of bigotry and homophobia." Charlie casually laced his fingers through Adams. "It was really tough on our relationship but we made it through. Unfortunately, we didn't have the strength we needed while we were on opposite sides of the country."  
  
Adam shifted so that their shoulders touched, "We knew that a long distance relationship would be hard but with all the media hype and the stress of our careers, we just couldn't do it anymore," Adam trailed off slowly. "We were apart for a year and a half. Banksie had been my best friend for years so we were still close in that sense but it wasn't until he was traded to L.A. and I to Anaheim that we were able to work out our problems." Charlie continued for him. Adam smiled softly, "We are closer and stronger now than we've ever been."  
  
The pair turned back to their pancakes for a moment before Adam suddenly turned back to the camera, "If I know my Spazway, he'll be silently freaking out by the time you show this. Spaz-babe relax, I love ya and I'll meet you in Boston." Behind him, Charlie rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of flour. "Yo Cake-eater, catch!" as Adam turned, Charlie threw the flour, which landed all over Adam's face. "You'll pay for that Conway!" Adam threatened as he started tickling his boyfriend and the clip faded to black and the show went to commercial.  
  
A small smile permeated Charlie's face as he lightly shook his head and muttered, "God I wish he were here."  
  
"You really love him don't you?" The realization suddenly hit Oprah. Adam really was Charlie's whole life.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Charlie answered. "Yeah, I do."  
  
They sat in silence, absorbing the magnitude of what Charlie had just said, until the show came back from its break.  
  
"I'm here with Charlie Conway, captain of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Charlie, you are a volunteer minor hockey coach. You and a few other players from the Mighty ducks and the Kings have teamed up to coach a team of 8- 10 year olds from on underprivileged neighbourhood. What inspired you to organize this?"  
  
"Umm," Charlie paused, "A lot of things really. When I was a kid, back home in Minnesota, I grew up in a single parent home and my mom had to work all the time just to pay the rent and put food on the table. Most of my peewee team was the same way. If it hadn't been for Coach Bombay, I would probably be living in the same neighbourhood I grew up in and wasting the future my mom worked so hard to give me. Playing hockey gave me confidence; it gave me a reason to be the best that I could be. I just wanted to give some other kid the chance and the reason to try and to succeed." Charlie stopped and then started again, "I wanted to make a difference in someone's life. Adam, Adam grew up in a wealthy family but he felt the difference it made in himself and in the rest of the team when someone was willing to give is a chance and he wanted to be apart of that. So, we organized and put together a team of inner city kids and we spend most of our free time coaching them.  
  
"When the guys from our teams heard about what we were doing, they donated money, equipment and time to help us keep the team going. In fact, Josh Lando, Kris St. James and Leo Tills of the Mighty Ducks and Tom Rics, Jim Olsen and Sergei Sicura from the Kings are in the process of building two more teams like ours."  
  
"You've done an incredible thing. I understand that you are also in the process of becoming an NHL qualified coach?" Oprah asked.  
  
"Yes, I am. I've wanted to be a coach ever since the Junior Good Will Games and I'm making that dream come true."  
  
"Good for you," Oprah turned to the audience, "Unfortunately for us, Charlie has to catch a plane in less than an hour." She turned back to Charlie, "It has been a pleasure to have you here."  
  
"It's been great to be here. Thank you for having me on your show," Charlie replied.  
  
"We will be back in a few moments," Oprah sent the show to commercial.  
  
As soon as the cameras were off, Charlie stood, shook Oprah's hand and quickly excused himself, "It really has been great to be here but if I don't leave now, I'll miss my plane."  
  
"It was a pleasure to have met you Charlie," Oprah said honestly. "You are a great person."  
  
Charlie smiled, "Thank you," and exited the set and then the building. 


	2. Revelations

Authors note for chapter 2- I just want to say thank you to those of you who reviewed. Please be patient with me. This is my first Duck fic and I'm still working on characterizations. In the next few chapters there is probably going to be a few things that need some explaining and they will eventually get explained but until then, just go with the flow.  
  
Meme- I love your stories. I haven't read all of them (you've written a LOT of stories) but the ones that I have read have been great. Just thought that you would like to know that you are one of the writers that inspired me to write a fic of my own.  
  
Crazy4nc128- Thanks so much for reviewing! I couldn't help but notice that you're a newbie to Duck writing as well. I have been following this fandom for awhile now and I think that we picked a very supportive place to start.  
  
Cakey- The whole time I was typing the first chapter I was thinking, "I should definitely give them a life story movie and a biography book." Lol great minds thinks alike. I think I just might make it happen. Thanks Quimby.  
  
Adam- There definitely is a lot of angst ahead. You'll see it when I get there. I'll be dealing with a lot of past issues hint hint and I think that you'll see where my summary comes from as I delve further into the story.  
  
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During his flight to Boston, Charlie began to re-think his talk show debut. Sure he had been on TV before but that was always brief news interviews. Hat it really been a good idea for him to jump into the game with a show like Oprah? Well, it would have to be because it was already done and over with.  
  
A flight attendant interrupted Charlie's musings. "Excuse me Mr. Conway," she began, "There are a few children behind you that would like to meet you."  
  
Charlie grinned in response. "I can't meet them if they are behind me. Would it be better it I went to them or if they came to me?" The flight attendant smiled, obviously grateful that she didn't have to return to the children with a negative answer. "I'll bring them right to you," she replied before heading back towards the rear of the plane.  
  
A few minute later, the attendant returned with two boys, a little girl and a man who appeared to be their father. "So I hear I have got a couple of fans?" Charlie greeted the family.  
  
"You're our favourite player!" responded the oldest of the two boys.  
  
Charlie chuckled lightly, "That's always nice to hear. Did you guys want autographs?"  
  
Three simultaneous "Yeah" 's were Charlie's answer and three napkins were produced for him to sign.  
  
Charlie laughed again. "I think I may have something better than a napkin," he said as he reached for his brief case. Opening it across his lap, Charlie pulled out three 8x 10 black and white photographs of he and Adam, complete with uniforms, at a mock face-off. Closing the briefcase he asked, "Who's name should I put in here first?" as he winked at the little girl who blushed shyly.  
  
"My name's Meghan," she said quietly.  
  
"Meghan. That's a pretty name. How old are you Meghan?" he asked kindly.  
  
"I'm five," she answered sweetly.  
  
"Five, wow," Charlie sounded impressed. "Do you skate?"  
  
The little girls face lit up. "Yeah. I want to be a hockey player just like you. only, I play goalie!"  
  
"Goalie, huh? That's an important position. I bet you're pretty good at it too." Charlie paused, "You know what, I have something special for you." He opened the brief case again and removed a hockey card and handed it to the little girl. "This is Julie Gaffney," he told her. "She plays for the Pennsylvania Lady Panthers. We call her 'Julie the Cat' because she's one of the best goalies there is. Now Meghan, how do you spell your name?"  
  
"M-E-," she spelt carefully, "G-H-A-N. Meghan."  
  
Charlie gave her the patented Conway grin and wrote a quick message (in surprisingly neat handwriting) on the photo before handing it to the little girl.  
  
"How 'bout you, what's your name?" Charlie asked the youngest boy.  
  
"I'm Kevin," he told Charlie.  
  
"How old are you Kevin?" Charlie asked.  
  
"I'm eight." Kevin said with confidence.  
  
"Eight. That's a good age. Do you play hockey too?" he questioned.  
  
"Yes, I'm a defense-man."  
  
"You look like a defense-man," Charlie responded as he scribbled on Kevin's picture before giving it to him.  
  
Charlie then turned to the oldest of the children, who appeared to be about 12. "What's your name?"  
  
"Jason. No -y-," he answered.  
  
"Charlie grinned, "Do you play hockey?"  
  
"Um, no actually," Jason stopped for a moment, "I've got a whole in my heart and can't play sports."  
  
"Ah," Charlie stated sympathetically. "My godson has an irregular heartbeat. He'll never be able to do much athletics but god, you'd never know it."  
  
"Most people don't even realize I'm different," Jason replied.  
  
"And they shouldn't," Charlie responded, "Because you're not. So you can't do sports, I couldn't write a book or play an instrument if my life depended on it. We've all got our stumbling blocks and it's how you stack them, not what they are made of that makes the difference."  
  
Jason thought about it for a moment. "I guess you're right."  
  
Charlie knew immediately what to write on Jason's photo. He quickly wrote it down and handed it to the boy. "If you're lucky, you might be able to catch Adam Banks at the airport and I think he would be happy to sign those picture as well," Charlie added before the family said their thank yous and went back to their seats.  
  
Being alone again, Charlie used the rest of the flight to reflect. Charlie thought about hockey, his life, Adam and what it all meant to him. The two things that his mind kept going back to were his love for Adam and his desire to be near him.  
  
Adam had always been the level headed one. He always thought things through and always had a plan. Charlie on the other hand, never thought things through, acted impulsively and made his plans as he went along. Charlie had an unmistakable air of leadership about him. He was fiercely loyal and fought for what he believed in, Adam was by no-means a push over, but he was quiet and subtle by nature. In essence, Adam was the brains and Charlie, Charlie was the heart.  
  
By the time the pilot announced the landing decent, Charlie had come to two conclusions. One, Adam really was his whole life. Hockey, working with children, none of it meant anything to him without Adam. Two, he enjoyed being at home and coaching minor hockey more than he liked practicing everyday and playing in hard fought games. He used to live for the sport. Practices, games, he thrived on it all but now, now he found it difficult to practice everyday.  
  
Charlie was truly exhausted by the time the plane landed. Philosophical thinking always made him tired, not even the excitement that being on a plane always brought to Charlie could make up for the energy that his revelations had drained him of. When he spotted Adam waiting for him in the terminal, he gathered enough strength to drop his briefcase and cling to Adam in a tight embrace. Burying his face in Adams throat he whispered, " I really, really missed you."  
  
"God I missed you too." Adam whispered back. The couple stood in the crowded airport, completely absorbed in themselves until Adam finally broke the moment. "We should grab your bags and head to the hotel. By the way, you look exhausted." He added.  
  
"I am." Charlie muttered.  
  
Charlie rested his head on Adam's shoulder during the cab ride to the hotel. When they stepped out of the taxi, Charlie took a moment to look up at the expanse of the Hilton Hotel that they were staying at. "I swear I'll never get used to staying at these fancy places," Charlie muttered.  
  
"You wouldn't be my Charlie if you did," Adam laughed. "Come on, let's get you upstairs before you fall asleep on me."  
  
"Okay," Charlie agreed as Adam led him inside. Once inside their room, Charlie located the bed and literally flopped onto it.  
  
Adam chuckled softly as he removed his own shoes and the Charlie's before joining his boyfriend on the bed. Tenderly playing with the tiny hairs on the back of Charlie's neck he softly asked, "Do you want to talk about it now or later?"  
  
Charlie made a gruff "Mmm" sound before turning on his side to face Adam. "Who says there is something to talk about?"  
  
Adam laughed at the familiar stall tactic. "You do. And don't try deigning it. I haven't seen you in 3 days and you still haven't tried to get me in bad," he pointed out.  
  
A small smile spread across Charlie's face, "If you hadn't noticed, we are in bed."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Adam replied, "We're ON a bed and that is not what I meant. You came off a plane tired. Talk to me Charlie."  
  
Charlie sighed and looked into Adams eyes. He ran his fingers along the jaw line of the man he loved before answering. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?"  
  
Seeing the serious look in Charlie's eyes, Adam kissed his palm softly. "About as much as you mean to me. You know I love you and I know you love me too. Don't ever question that."  
  
"I don't," Charlie sighed again. "You know how hard it's been for me to get up and go to practice everyday, how hard it's been for me to focus on the game. My hearts just not in it anymore and I think you know that too." He watched as Adam nodded his head slightly. "Adam," he took a deep breath, "I think I should retire." 


	3. check out the Challenge!

**A/N: Alright so it has been a very long time since I updated this story and there is a good reason for it. Honest. You see, I lost most of the third chapter. I know I lost it and didn't just not write it because the last piece of the story that I have, drops off mid-sentence. I lost the rest of the chapter and along with it, the inspiration to continue writing this story. So here it comes:**

**The Challenge:**

**Although I have lost the inspiration to write, I still love this story and think that it deserves to be written. So I want someone else to do it for me.**

**Now, naturally, I can't let just anyone finish it. It needs to be someone who is intrigued by the story, someone who can already visualize where the story will go from here. If you are interested, write the next chapter. Make me believe that you have a plan for the rest of this story and the … TA DA! you are now the proud author of chapter 4 (or maybe 3.5) of **_**Life's Work, Life's Love.**_** And if you'd like to, you can finish the entire story, under your own pen- name… with my name in the by line of the first 3 chapters, of course.**

**Email your chapter to me at and you'll have your response as soon as possible.**

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Adams eye's widened in surprise. That was not a sentence he ever thought he would hear from Charlie. "Retire? You love hockey. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"Yes… and no. I think I am Ads. I want to coach, that much I know for sure and I'm just not having fun with the game anymore," Charlie closed his eyes as he spoke. "I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I don't know whether to retire or take a break or what. My contract runs out this year and I don't know if I should sign another one." Charlie opened his eyes again and entwined his fingers with Adam's. "I'm just so tired and confused. I don't know what to do Adam, I just want to lie here next to you, okay? Forever?"

"Forever," Adam agreed as he kissed Charlie's forehead and brushed back a strand of hair, "Get some sleep and we'll talk about this later."

Charlie didn't need to be told twice and fell asleep almost immediately. Adam, on the other hand, was left staring at the ceiling and listening to his lovers herd beat as he pondered their life without hockey.

So much of their daily routine was based on hockey and training. Charlie's retirement would mean a complete upheaval of both of their lives. They were at the gym from 6-8 am 6 days a week, their cupboards were stocked with high protein, low fat foods and their days were planned around practice and games. Would they survive such a drastic change?

They had found their way back to each other the last time and they were stronger, more prepared this time but still; there was that nagging doubt in the back of his mind. Without hockey, Charlie might realize that they didn't have as much in common as they thought. Maybe he would find someone who wasn't away most weekends of the year. Maybe, just maybe, Charlie would find someone he could love more than him.

Charlie stirred in his sleep and pulled Adam closer as he slipped a hand beneath his shirt. "Love you," he mumbled against Adams chest. Adam smiled, even in his sleep Charlie always knew how to make his worries disappear.

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**Did you read the Author's note at the top of the page? **

**No?**

**Why not? **

**Go take a look now!**


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